The Warlord and the Manslayer
by Shaboba330
Summary: When Kenshin learns that the Warrior Princess, Xena, is riding into Tokyo, he begins to worry. However, little does he know that there is much more in store for the both of them then they think...
1. A Bone To Pick

**Chapter 1:**

"Xena, I can handle myself just fine! Besides, you should learn to trust me more."

"I trust you as much as I need to. You're lucky I trust you at all after that nasty experience with those thugs…"

Gabrielle winced. She remembered when those brutish punks mugged her the other day in that town. Just the thought made her groan. "Xena…" Gabrielle tried to retort, but she couldn't think of anything to say. Xena tended to have that affect on people.

Xena and Gabrielle were travelling in Japan. Xena said that she had 'old business' there and, of course, that was the end of that. Gabrielle had no idea what that meant, but she had a hunch that it would mean another big adventure.

"So Xena," Gabrielle began, "tell me more about this 'business' that you were talking about."

"It's my own business. Don't worry about it, Gabrielle," Xena said. Gabrielle was sly, though. She knew that Xena was going to try to beat around the bush. But Gabrielle wasn't about to fall for that again. So she stared at Xena until it made her so uncomfortable that she had to say something.

Falling victim to Gabrielle's dirty tactics, Xena sighed heavily and said, "since you're probably going to bug me about it until I tell you, I'll give in. I have a score to settle, okay?"

Gabrielle looked intrigued. "What kind of a score? What do you mean?"

"The Japanese city of Tokyo," Xena began. "I traveled there with my army, to continue my eastward expansion into Asia. Nearly the entire city was turned to ruin. But this one man… a renegade samurai… he took down my entire army without suffering a single injury. Not even a scratch on him. It was amazing. I offered him a spot in my army, but he rejected my offer. He and I had a battle, and he defeated me. He said to always remember that day when I met… the Battosai… Kenshin Himura."

"Kenshin… are you feeling okay? You've been moping around a lot lately and I'm beginning to worry." Kaoru sat by Kenshin and poured some tea.

"Kaoru… I have some rather unsettling news." Kenshin's eyes narrowed. "I was in town yesterday and I overheard some townspeople discussing a rumor… a rumor that the Warrior Princess is riding into Tokyo again."

Kaoru looked worried. "Who is the… Warrior Princess?"

"She is a very dangerous warlord who destroys cities and leads a powerful army. I have defeated her before, but she may have improved her fighting skills since then."

Meanwhile, Sanosuke and Yahiko were listening to Kenshin and Kaoru's conversation outside. "Shh! Shut up!"

"You shut up, rooster head!"

Kenshin turned around and laughed. "I see you've been listening to our conversation, hmm?"

Sanosuke stood up. "Hey Kenshin… is this warrior lady all she's cracked up to be? I mean, I've heard stories about that thing she throws around… I forget what it was called."

"I believe it was called a chakram," Kenshin replied. "But if she is indeed coming to Japan… we must be ready to defend whoever she attacks."

"Hey Kenshin," Yahiko stood up and asked, "it sounds like there're some people in there." He pointed to the forest. "Maybe I should go check it out…"

"No, Yahiko," Kaoru interrupted. "What if that warrior woman is in there? You could get hurt."

Yahiko glared at her. "I'm not a kid! I won't get hurt! I can handle myself."

Kenshin smiled. "You're right, Yahiko. Perhaps it would be wise if you did go to see if there is anybody in the forest."

"Kaoru, we need to give him some room to be independent," Kenshin whispered to Kaoru. "Otherwise, how can he perfect the Kamiya-Kasshin style and eventually pass it on?"

Kaoru sighed. "I guess you're right, Kenshin. I just… I just don't know what I would do if anything happened to him…"


	2. Not Expecting A Boy

**Chapter 2:**

"Hey Xena, I'm going to go over to that pond and get some fish for our dinner."

"Remember the technique I showed you, Gabrielle?"

"Of course, how could I forget?" Gabrielle laughed to hide her disgust. Sticking her hands around swarms of smelly fish in an even smellier pond wasn't exactly at the top of her to-do list. But, she tried to be brave. Gabrielle took a big, deep breath and stuck her hands in the water, feeling around for any fish. It was an unpleasant feeling. It almost felt like cold, slimy, slippery goo gliding between your fingertips and leaving its unpleasant leftovers behind.

"Hey!"

Gabrielle heard a voice. She looked around, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. She went back to fishing.

"What are you doing?"

This time, Gabrielle knew she heard a voice. "Who's there," she called out. "Show yourself!" She picked up her staff, just in case. Slowly, Gabrielle edged towards the bushes.

"YAH!" She took a big swing of her staff, and conked something in the head.

"Oww…"

To Gabrielle's surprise, a small boy with dark, spiky hair and big brown eyes stepped out of the wilderness. He was visibly trying to hold back tears. "What did you do that for," he whined. Gabrielle was shocked. She wasn't expecting a boy.

"I'm so sorry! Here, are you okay?"

"I'm fine! Get away from me!"

"Oh… okay. Hey, what's your name?"

The boy looked suspicious. "Myojin," he exclaimed. "Yahiko Myojin."

"Well, Yahiko," Gabrielle said, "can you fish?"

"Is that what you were trying to do? Well, don't worry about it… I can fish okay…" Yahiko shed his clothes down to his underpants and dived into the pond. About two minutes later, Yahiko tossed five big fish out of the water, each one of them slapping Gabrielle in the face. "Is that good?" Yahiko asked, stepping out of the pond. He didn't seem to care much that he was practically naked. "I'm not normally this generous, you know…"

"Really? I wouldn't know."

Yahiko looked up at Gabrielle. "Really?"

Gabrielle just smiled at him. Yahiko stared at her intently until he felt a big hand smacking him across the back of the head.

"Hey, kid! Who are you, and why are you… naked? Gabrielle, c'mon," Xena ordered.

"Relax, Xena," Gabrielle said. "His name's Yahiko. He caught our dinner for us. I think that the least we can do is give him something to eat. It's already dark anyway."

Xena frowned, visibly annoyed. Her icy blue eyes practically turned into cold, sharp knives. Not an unusual thing in her case. "Fine… he can stay and eat. Give me those fish," Xena grumbled as she snatched the fish from Gabrielle.

"Don't mind Xena," Gabrielle smiled. "She gets cranky when we fall behind her schedule. Be thankful she didn't pull the pinch on you."

"Pull the… what?" Yahiko looked confused as he put his clothes back on.

"It's a move she uses on warlords and guys like that to interrogate them. Basically, she cuts off the flow of blood to their brain by pinching a nerve, and they have only a few seconds before they end up dead."

"Wow… did she ever teach you that?"

Gabrielle laughed. "I wish! It would make my life so much easier…" Yahiko and Gabrielle both laughed.

"Hey," Gabrielle began, "you didn't tell me yet why you snuck up on me."

Yahiko was blushing. "Oh… uh… well… I…"

At that moment, Kenshin sprang out of nowhere and knocked Gabrielle to her feet. His blade was at her throat. "If you have any intention to hurt Yahiko, I advise you to avoid a fight you cannot win and leave right now."

"AY-YI-YI-YI-YI-YI-YI-YI!"

Kenshin's eyes narrowed. "That shriek…"

Xena, coming to Gabrielle's rescue yet again, flipped through the air and drew her sword. "Gee, and I thought this day couldn't get any worse!"


End file.
